25 Years of Contamination Control on the James Webb Space Telescope
Wednesday, May 7
Speaker: Eve Wooldridge, NASA Aerospace Engineer, Emerita
This presentation will delve into the remarkable engineering feat that is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the groundbreaking advancements in contamination control that made this revolutionary mission possible. We will explore the crucial role of contamination control and cleanliness in ensuring the telescope's success, highlighting the meticulous measures taken to protect its delicate instruments. From its inception to its awe-inspiring discoveries, the JWST stands as a testament to human ingenuity and scientific pursuit.
About the Speaker
Ms. Eve Wooldridge, upon receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland, started working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1984, cutting her teeth as a contamination control engineer on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) program. Since then, Eve has worked many projects, including one from the history books: the TOMS instrument which launched in 1991 on the Soviet Meteor-3 spacecraft. TOMS was part of the 1980's era Reagan-Gorbachev agreement for the United States and the Soviet Union to work together on space programs for peaceful purposes. Since then, most of Eve’s career was spent on her 26 years as the Contamination Engineering Lead on the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s newest premier observatory. In this role, Eve had the joy and privilege of leading a highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, and technicians from NASA, numerous contractors, and international partners. Working with this team on JWST has been the highlight of her career, and today she is very happy to talk about the many feats and adventures that were required to launch the telescope thoroughly tested, fully cleaned and ready to produce the spectacular science we have seen since its launch on Christmas Day 2021.